From tech conferences to business challenges, HP’s global chief information officer (CIO) Ron Guerrier, is spearheading the tech giant’s work with HBCUs to build and foster Black talent into tech. Throughout his pathway to IT leadership, Guerrier has made it his priority to speak up about the lack of diversity in the industry. The trailblazer’s new partnership with HBCU is a further testament to his commitment to helping his community break into the sector. HP’s partnership with HBCUs Through Guerrier, HP will be working alongside HBCUs to build a
Despite Big Tech’s promises in the summer of 2020, Black and Brown tech employees are finding themselves hard hit by short-sighted cuts to diversity efforts and layoffs. The Great Reset “The great reset” is what San Jose State University’s Professor Ahmed Banafa calls the current climate of tech layoffs, restructuring, and downsizing. While much of the global economy took a massive hit during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the tech industry thrived. Tech companies made huge profits and hired tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of new staff. Yet, fast forward
Dr. Lakeysha Hallmon is the entrepreneur behind The Village Market Atlanta, a community hub for Black businesses to help them connect and engage with their consumers. What is The Village Market? Over the years, The Village has become a staple in Atlanta for many Black-owned businesses. In addition, the thriving village has connected with small businesses across 38 different states in four other countries, which is a testament to the platform’s growing popularity. To date, The Village has spotlights thousands of Black-owned businesses specializing in all-natural products and foods. In
Black-led charity, 10,000 Black Interns, has helped thousands of young Black professionals get their foot into elitist sectors through their schemes and work opportunities. The UK-based charity, co-founded by Michael Barrington Hibbert, Wol Kolade, Dawid Konotey-Ahulu, and Jonathan Sorrell, has helped thousands of young Black people access paid internships in hundreds of companies including Amazon, TikTok, Bloomberg, and Deloitte. “Some of our candidates experience a king of imposter syndrome. They don’t necessarily think that these industries are for them, or they haven’t been considered when they have applied to these
Tech platform, Goodie Nation, has announced a partnership with the Tech Equity Collective Impact Fund to donate $1M to improve tech career prospects for Black professionals. The program, which has opened its application to all Black and allying organizations, will provide members with tech industry resources and access to exclusive opportunities. Additionally, selected organizations will receive a year of access to Tech Equity Collective programming, tech industry resources, access to a network of Black professionals, and access to opportunities. The Tech Equity Collective, a Google initiative, is designed to help
Damilola Awofisayo is in a league of her own. The young hacker, who was born in America but spent part of her childhood in Nigeria, has learned to use technology to solve societal problems. Awofisayo fell in love with computer science at high school and was keen to help run hackathons. However, after several unsuccessful attempts to take part in hackathons, she decided to take things into her own hands. Now a Duke University freshman, Awofisayo is the founder of TecHacks. The all-female and non-binary student virtual hackathon aims to
To celebrate Computer Science Education week, Girls Who Code have launched a new video game, Girls Who Code Girls, tailored to turning users into creators by helping them code their characters. According to recent stats, 77% of video game developers are men meaning most female and non-binary characters are designed by men, which is why women are misrepresented. Black Girls Who Code hopes to change that with their new gaming experience. Girls Who Code, founded by Reshma Saujani, is a non-profit organization committed to disrupting the imbalance in gaming by challenging the misogynistic culture that
Black-owned fiber and material science firm Aja Labs has raised $2.5 million to commercialize its first product, hair extensions made from plant material. The seed funding round, led by Impact America Fund, included Better Ventures, SOSV’s IndieBi, and a range of leaders across different sectors, including public health, cosmetics, business, and beauty. Aja Labs, co-founded by Osahon Ojeaga and Mary Moore, is an innovative company is working to build a better-for-you and better-for-the-planet product focusing on sustainability and human wellness. Their patent-pending hair extensions will be sold under the consumer brand Nourie and will include
A holistic career accelerator platform for indigenous founders, Natives Rising, has received extra funding to help support and grow the number of indigenous women graduating college with STEM degrees. The non-profit organization, co-founded by Danielle Forward and Betsy Fore, is on a mission to close the racial gap, which sees only 0.6% of scientists and engineers from a Native American background break into the industry. According to a recent National Center for Education Statistics report, a small number of Black and Indigenous women – approximately 4% – end up leaving
Design engineer Lisa-Dionne Morris is the UK’s 41st Black woman professor, an achievement she describes as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” After working in the industry for over a decade, Morris was able to kickstart her professorship after joining the 100 Black Women Professors NOW initiative, which aims to help Black academic women navigate and manage their careers. Morris’ promotion to Professor of Public & Industry Understanding of Capability Driven Design within the School of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Leeds marks the first professorship of the program. The program, which
